TASMANIAN WILDERNESS 2013
The Wall - Tasmania Art Tour
My first art tour!
We were blessed with fantastic warm weather, and never was a cloud in the sky until our last morning at Hobart!
We set off on this my first time taking other people away to paint. I must say I was pretty nervous to begin with as never had I done this before. There was only 6 for this trip and we flew to Launceston and joined our chartered bus and driver. The group were great, and did lots of sketching, took part in the show and tells, and even wore the little Tassie Devil badges that I purchased for them as our totem for the tour. The itinerary was varied a couple of times as suggested by the driver. These changes included doing the letterbox trail en route to Smithton before Arthur River and going to Dove Lake At Cradle Mountain in the morning instead of the afternoon, thus having a free afternoon.10 days worked very well and having two nights at Cradle Mountain and two nights at Smithton was adequate. There was plenty of time to see some of the towns in between stops.
Our accommodation was great. Very luxurious and comfortable. I particularly liked our cottages at Strahan- cute and cosy and right across from the water. We dined at the Motel up the hill and woe be-fell us- the seafood buffet was half eaten by the time we got there as there were two large coaches who had got to the dining room earlier. I felt that the staff could have replaced the food, and I would get to this buffet by 6pm in future to beat the hoards of tourists intent on eating everything before anyone else could! Breakfast was the same the next morning with the tour buses arriving at the same time, as we were all getting the Gordon River Cruise. It was a battle furious buffet! We had a fantastic day for this lovely cruise to Hells Gate, up the Gordon River and to Sarah Island
The Cruise on the Arthur River was just wonderful. Lunch was supplied picnic style in the rainforest. It was freshly made and enjoyable. There is nothing much at Arthur River as is very remote and I am glad we took the opportunity to see it. A highlight of our day was a trip to THE WALL. This was a massive sculptural work in progress by Greg Duncan who was assembling 100 laminated pieces of boat grade Huon Pine each one metre high and 100 mm thick. Each panel is being carved in Bass Relief and light and shadow are important in achieving a three dimensional effect.
We also took a trip on the Wilderness Railway-from Strahan to Queenstown before heading back to Hobart via Lake St Claire. Everyone produced lots of sketches and it was a most enjoyable trip. Our final night was a fun dress up dinner to a theme which was ‘a wilderness monster’ Some very weird monsters appeared that is for sure! I have included one of these themed nights in every tour since. They are great fun and a fitting end to the trip.
The MONA Gallery that we visited on our last day in Hobart was a terrific experience. Very modern, very confronting, and very remarkable. ! A lot to take in! It was suggested we start at the bar on the bottom level and work our way up!
